Hundreds turn out to give their views at consultation events

Hundreds of people have been finding out more about a draft plan which sets out how Wiltshire Council can plan effectively for growth and meet housing needs for the future at recent information events

The public was invited to attend four sessions across Chippenham, Devizes, Salisbury and Trowbridge to find out more about the draft Housing Site Allocations Plan.

More than 700 people visited the events to view the plans and make suggestions as part of the wider consultation.

The plan sets out how to meet housing needs in the most sustainable way for the period up to 2026. The online consultation for the plan launched on 14 July for 10 weeks up to 5pm on 22 September 2017.

Toby Sturgis, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for planning said: “Housing growth is a government priority and all local authorities have to prepare plans to identify sites for development. These are draft proposals on how we can ensure sufficient homes for Wiltshire communities into the future.

“Many people have expressed their thanks for holding these events which provided an opportunity to share views and see the plans. Our consultation is ongoing online and I’d encourage people to continue to express their views.”

Much of the housing growth for Wiltshire has already been delivered or identified and the proposed plan brings forward further sites, designed to ensure the scale of growth appropriate for Wiltshire as a whole is managed and directed at the most sustainable locations.

In preparing the plan the council has engaged with infrastructure providers including in education and health to understand what facilities will be required to support the proposals. The council also has a Wiltshire School Places Strategy to ensure sufficient school places are available into the longer term.

The draft plan also reviews existing boundaries around many of Wiltshire’s settlements to ensure these are up to date.

The Wiltshire Core Strategy, which was adopted after wide consultation in 2015, sets the framework for the plan.

Once the consultation is complete the feedback will be considered by cabinet and full council before the draft plan is submitted to the Secretary of State for examination by an independent inspector. The inspector will consider the consultation responses as part of the examination and issue a report indicating whether the plan can be adopted

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